Description

A breathless and highly charged political thriller: the story of a senator who is offered the vice presidential slot by both parties’ presidential nominees and then gets ominous threats

It’s presidential primary season in Washington, DC, and both parties are on edge. At campaign rallies for all the candidates around the country, there are disturbing incidents of violence and protest and shocking acts of civil disobedience. Rena and Brooks are happy to sit it out.

Against this backdrop, Wendy Upton, the highly respected centrist senator, must make a choice: she’s been offered the VP slot by both parties’ leading candidates. When she receives an anonymous, unnerving threat that could destroy her promising career, she hires Peter Rena to investigate her past and figure out which side is threatening her and what they are threatening her with.

As Rena digs through the senator’s seemingly squeaky-clean past, he must walk the tightrope between two parties at war with each other and with themselves, an electorate that is as restive as it has ever been, and a political culture that is as much driven by money as it is by ideology.

About the Author

Tom Rosenstiel is the author of eleven books, four of which are novels. His nonfiction is focused on politics and media, and he is recognized as one of the leading thinkers in the country in the future of media. His book The Elements of Journalism, now in its fourth edition, has been translated into more than 25 languages. Tom is the Eleanor Merrill Visiting Professor on the future of Journalism at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He formerly was the executive director of the American Press Institute and the founder and director of the media research unit at Pew Research Center, which he directed for 16 years. He was the press critic of the Los Angeles Times for a decade and is a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. He lives in Chevy Chase Maryland with his wife, Rima.

Praise For…

Oppo is a relentlessly entertaining and masterfully constructed Washington thriller. Rosenstiel nails the intense work of a campaign in crystalline detail. This is a riveting story of D.C. intrigue made for our time. — Jessica Yellin, author of Savage News and creator of #NewsNotNoise

“Tom Rosenstiel’s OPPO is a terrifying and fascinating deep-dive into the world of political opposition research and dark money. He writes about the subject with great insight and authority, while at the same time telling a tight, compelling story filled with sharply-drawn characters. A first-rate page-turner that’s both gripping and illuminating.” — Lou Berney, author of November Road

“Oppo is that rarest of books, a Washington thriller that’s genuinely thrilling and gets Washington right.  It’s a suspenseful masterclass in the modern American political campaign—and best of all, offers an ending with some hope about our system.”  — Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of House on Fire